So… I'm loving all of you so much. And for everyone plotting Nicky's murder, don't. She's just doing what we little sisters do. Older brothers tend to be stupid and blindly in love. Aaaand, I know you'll like this chapter. Things are starting to really heat up between Mitchie and Shane.

There isn't a real time line with these chapters anymore. 1 night can last between 2 chapters, or I can jump weeks in 1 chapter. This way I'm avoiding filler-y stuff.

And only one song will have the lyrics mostly if not fully written out in this entire story. But you'll have to wait for that. And Mitchie's song isn't real, and she doesn't 'sing it' for you cause, I can't write songs. I mock myself at some point in there.

There may only be 1 update a day now, though, cause the site isn't updating if you post more than one chapter every 24 hours, I think. So, unless you've got an alert, you won't exactly know if it updated or not.

Long A/n over now.


Chapter 7

Caitlyn and I walked around the Mall absently, with no particular destination in mind. We were walking with a pair of earphones between us, listening to Caitlyn's mp3 player. She had confiscated mine when I blew out my headphones the day before from blasting the music. We weren't saying much, and oddly enough, it was getting to me.

Needing to break the silence, I asked, "So, what are you getting Nate?"

She shrugged. Yeah, that was a useful answer. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. What to get your famous rock star boyfriend? Hmm…" She tapped her chin playfully. "I was thinking of getting him some new ties or something. Lame, I know. But the boy needs some new ones." We giggled, knowing it was true. Nate always wore the same 3 ties.

"Oh, maybe we could find some cool dress shirts for him? Like, ones that have designs on them? I'm getting sick of the solid colors on those boys."

Caitlyn paused, a thoughtful look on her face. "I love how not only are they older than us, but they're 18 & 19, and we call them boys all the time." I thought on that for a moment before looking at her.

"Oh well." We said together and proceeded in our search for the perfect Nate gift.

We walked past an Arts & Crafts store and saw an advertisement.

"Oooh!" Caitlyn said pointing.

"I know!" I replied equally excited. We rushed into the store and bought the last one. "Well, there's Jason's gift."

"I feel bad about only getting him one present. Nate and Shane are each going to have two." Caitlyn said depressed.

"We'll try to find him something else, too." I assured her.

We continued to search the mall. We'd managed to find Nate some really good shirts and new ties. They were probably more Caitlyn's style than his, but we knew he'd love them. As a joke, we bought them Connect 3 guitar pics.

Trying to control her laughter as we continued to search the music store, Caitlyn relented, "Okay, okay. I know the whole point was to distract you. But are you going to get Shane anything?"

I sighed. "I want to. But I don't know what to get him." Nate needed new clothes. Shane doesn't. "I was originally thinking of maybe getting him stuff for his Mustang. But I couldn't think of anything. And after his birthday, I really want to get him something special."

His birthday had been in the end of October. I spent weeks trying to figure out what to get him. In the end I was clueless and gave him a card with an IOU. Shopping for him is like impossible!

"You know." Caitlyn paused, picking up a CD she wanted. "You could always make him a gift."

"Like?" I asked confused.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh I don't know. You have an amazing voice, which he loves. You write awesome songs, that he loves. You make good melodies, he gets stuck in his head. And you have a best friend who happens to love mixing music. I have no idea how you can pull those into a Christmas present, Mitch." I smiled, hugging her tightly. The music videos that had been playing in the background on HotTunes paused for a news report.

"He may not be storming off the sets, but Shane Grey is still costing the label a lot of money on them. Hospital bills, this time, for his now former manager Chris Swane, who the pop star punched in the face 3 times before band mates pulled him away. An insider says the two go into words. Then, Swane made a comment about Grey's girlfriend, in which Grey responded to by punching him. On the upside of this drama, we seem to have finally found out the reason for Grey's change this past summer. He's in love…"

"Oh, wow." Caitlyn stammered. "Nate told us, but wow." I didn't say anything. I just wanted to get away from that store. I walked back out into the mall, leaving Caitlyn to buy the pics. I called Mom to come get us while I waited.

"How does this sound?" I asked as Caitlyn came back out, "My knight shining armor, you slay may dragons for me?"

"I like it." She said as we started walking toward the parking lot. "He is like your real life prince charming." I kept humming to myself though.

"Ooh, I always thought the fairytale world wasn't where I wanted to be. Then I found my prince charming, my knight in shining armor, And you slay'd my dragons and rescued me."

"I like it so far. Not really sure if it's more lyric-y or poem-y, but I like it."

"Well, of course it needs work." I laughed just as Mom pulled up.

I worked on Shane's song during my time in detention. Caitlyn was right, it was a little poem like. It didn't matter though. As long as I had something to give to him and explain how I felt to him. The week passed slowly. Mostly because Nate had told Caitlyn they would be a few days longer than expected. Shane really screwed up his hand.

By Wednesday the following week, I was back to zombie mode. Everyday they weren't back, the more depressed I had become. Caitlyn laughed at me when I came down for breakfast.

"Wow. I didn't even know you owed sweatpants." I smiled at her. "Nice shirt, by the way."

I stuck out my tongue playfully. "Thanks." I looked at the TV and saw the Connect 3 logo, but the volume was low. "Oh god. What did they do now?" I asked.

"Announced the tour and new album approximate dates." She replied laughing. "They aren't always in trouble."

I cracked a half smile. "But usually."

I felt and looked like a total bum at school that day, but I really didn't care. I just wanted the day to be over. Finally, Caitlyn and I walked out of the school. There were only a handful of students outside already. Most were still at their lockers. I heard the familiar strumming of a guitar and paused.

I turned around faster than humanly possible when I heard his voice behind me. "Every time I think I'm closer to the heart…" He sang.

"Cait, tell me I'm not dreaming." I asked softly.

Shocked, she laughed, "You're not dreaming."

Once my eyes locked on his he never broke eye contact. He sang Gotta Find You to me as I moved closer. When he finished I was on the verge of tears.

"Three weeks. Nothin's changed, Mitch. At least not for me. How bout you?" He asked standing close enough to look down at me.

"Oh, Shane!" I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face into his chest. "I'm so sorry." I cried. Pulling back, I stared up at him. "I love you, Shane. I know that without a doubt in my mind. I never want to go through something like this again. I'm so sorry." He wiped the tears that were falling down my face quickly.

Cupping my face he whispered to me, "I love you. I hate not being able to call you or text you. Dream you just ain't the same." By now, most of my school was watching our interaction but I didn't care.

"Can we just forget this and move on?" I asked.

But he shook his head no. "No. I need you to remember this. To remember how much this sucked, and how much we want to be together." He explained. "But we can move on." He kissed me then, and I relished in the sensation I'd missed for 3 weeks.

"How's your hand?" I asked stepping back to examine it.

He smirked. "It's fine. Chris' face wasn't all that hard. How's yours?" He asked pointedly.

"Nate told you about that?" I blushed.

He smiled, changing the subject. "Nice shirt by the way. Looks a little familiar." He teased.

"It smelled like you." I pouted looking down at his t-shirt I was wearing. He laughed, pulling me toward his car. "Where's Caitlyn?" I asked looking around.

"Nate." He replied.

Instead of taking me back to my house, he brought me to their apartment. I'd only been there a few times, usually with Caitlyn. He had already talked to Mom and kicked Jason out for the night. Nate was with Caitlyn at my house.

"So, what's with the privacy?" I asked as I sat on the couch.

He shrugged. "Just, wanted to be alone with you. I haven't seen you, much less talked to you in 3 weeks. I've missed you."

I smiled, kissing him lightly. "I've missed you, too. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." he dismissed it. "Now I don't have to deal with Chris, and you understand how serious I am about you."

"I know." I whispered.

We spent a lot of time kissing, holding, and just talking. After a while he ordered dinner, as we all know he can't cook at all. While we waited, he suddenly disappeared into his room, coming back a moment later with something in his hand.

"What's that?" I asked curiously. He sat back down and faced me, taking my hand in his.

"Don't freak, okay?" I nodded, confused. "I wanted to get you something, to show you how much I love you." He opened his hand to reveal a ring. I'll let that sink in for a moment.

"Shane-" I began protesting.

He laughed. "I told you not to freak." He smiled, holding the ring so I could see it better. It was a set of hands holding a heart with a crown on it. The heart was a purple amethyst stone. "It's a claddagh ring. Some… celtic thing. But I liked it and what it represented. I'm not asking you to marry me, I promise. It's a promise ring. That someday I will. And that I'm yours and I plan on being yours forever at this point."

I was a little speechless as he slipped it onto my left ring finger. "What does it mean? You said you liked what it represented." I asked examining the ring a bit. It was beautiful.

"The guy at the store said the claddagh is a traditional Irish symbol. The hands represent friendship and the heart represents love. The hands are supporting the heart because friendship is the foundation and support of true love. The crown is supposed to represent loyalty. The crown is protecting the heart from outside influence. Loyalty helps keep the heart true." He looked up from my hand at this point. "That could all be a bunch of bull the guy told me just to get me to buy the ring, though. But I like it."

I was crying again. "Wow. That is… amazing. I love it." I kissed him happily.

Later, we were laying on the couch just holding each other. I whispered softly looking up at him. "I thought I lost you." I admitted.

He smiled down at me before giving me a light, lingering kiss. "You could never loose me." I smiled as I buried my face into his chest again.

"Nicky apologized." He said quietly. I stiffened at the mention of the demon sister.

"Oh?" I tried to act indifferent.

I felt him nod. "Yeah, she didn't realize how much we cared about each other. Nate called and yelled at her after I punched Chris." I lifted my head slightly.

"Caitlyn didn't mention that."

He shrugged. "He didn't tell her. He wasn't too proud of yelling at a 14 year girl." He sighed. "It was a funny conversation though. He told her that if the label fired me it'd be her fault in part because she was being too selfish to see that I was happy. Nate thinks she was upset because I used to go home and visit every chance I got, and I called her and Kev at least twice a week. Then you and I started dating and you became my whole world in her eyes."

I could understand her being upset with me then. I just nodded, laying my head back down. "She called me crying. She wants to call you and apologize, I just didn't think it'd be a good idea until I talked to you."

"Well, I want to get along with your sister, Shane. If you plan on us being together for a while, it'll make things easier."

He kissed my head laughing, "A while is an understand, Mitchie."

Mom and Dad flipped when they first saw the ring. But when I explained it, they relaxed a bit. I knew they thought Shane and I were moving too fast, but we weren't engaged. We were just… dedicated to one another. They didn't say anything about it, though. Caitlyn just smiled at me while I gushed about it.

Christmas was in a few days, and I was excited. Unfortunately, Shane and the others were going home for Christmas. I wasn't going with him, though. I wanted to spend the holiday with my parents and family. We also knew asking my parents would result in a lot of strain between them and us.

He was leaving tomorrow, along with the others, even Caitlyn, and tonight the group was exchanging gifts. We were all gathered in Connect 3's living room.

Caitlyn and I watched excitedly as Jason opened his present. "A birdhouse!" He exclaimed. "Well, sorta." He cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy.

"You can make it yourself." I explained. Nate seemed to look extra relieved. Jason was always asking Shane if he'd made his birdhouse yet.

"Okay, now, from me." Jason said happily, handing Caitlyn and I presents. We smiled and opened them.

"Jason." We awed together. He got us matching charm bracelets. They both had a 3 and a J hanging off them as well as a heart. In my heart an S and M were engraved, while Caitlyn's had a C and N. I had a C and N hanging next to my J as well as a microphone. Caitlyn had an S and M as well as a music note.

"These are amazing, Jason." We hugged him. He smiled giddily. "Did you do this all on your own?" He nodded proudly. "Wow. Thank you."

"Okay, your turn!" Jason prompted. Caitlyn passed her gift to Shane while I passed my gift to Nate, as well as Jason's second gift. They unwrapped the small boxes and laughed as they pulled out the guitar pics.

"Seriously?" Nate asked us.

We shook our heads no and gave Shane and Nate their real gifts. Nate pulled out the ties I bought for him. We opted to have me give him the lamer gift. However, he loved them. Shane pulled out the checkered seat covers Caitlyn had bought him. They matched his guitar case perfectly.

"Thanks." They said smiling happily with their gifts.

"Okay, so Shane has to wait for my gift." I said as Caitlyn passed Nate her gift. Shane pouted playfully.

"Sweet! I needed new shirts." Nate was a little too happy about the shirts we got him.

Nervous Caitlyn asked, "You like them?"

"I love them! They're like a perfect mix of my style and your style. How did you manage that?" I winked at her as she played it off.

"Here." Nate and Shane gave us our gifts.

"Wow, Nate." I said utterly surprised. Nate had gotten me a portfolio like notebook filled with blank lined paper and sheet music specially designed for lyrics to be written above the music. On the cover was printed 'Mitchie's Songs'.

"Well, you still use that one you made. I thought you could use a real one." I was touched at how much thought he put into my gift.

Returning to her own gift, Caitlyn gasped as she pulled it out of the paper. "Shane… thank you." He had gotten her a collection of beat samples she'd been wanting to get but was waiting until after Christmas to buy.

"For you, Caity." Nate passed her his gift. Nate barely caught her as she flung herself into his arms. A little known fact about Caitlyn: She loves baseball. And Nate had gotten her behind home plate tickets for her favorite team.

"Okay, your turn." Shane said as he passed me his gift. I was confused. "I thought you already gave me my gift." I held up my hand showing him the ring.

"Silly, silly, Mitchie. That was just because. Not your Christmas present." I smiled as I opened the long, thin box he handed me. A simple gold chain and locket looked up at me. The heart shaped locket had a stone in the center and etching all around it. It matched my ring. Opening it, two pictures stood out. One was of Shane and I from Final Jam singing our hearts out together. The other was us sleeping on my couch. We'd fallen asleep watching a movie.

"Shane, it's beautiful." I whispered as a lone tear streaked down my cheek. I kissed him while the others groaned.

Later that night, while the others hung out in the living room, Shane and I slipped into his room. He was bouncing with anticipation of his gift. I picked up his guitar, surprising him. I never touch his guitar.

"Well," I said sitting at his desk while he sat on the edge of his bed. "Once again, I had no idea what to get you. So, I wrote you a song. It's not... amazing, but…"

He silenced me. "Just play." He prompted smiling. I played 'Fairytales' for him and bit my lip in anticipation of what he thought.

He smirked at me. "Prince charming, huh?" I pushed him lightly,

"More like Prince Jerk." I laughed at him. He caught my wrist and pulled me on top of him so I was straddling him.

"Hi." He said smiling up at me slightly. I blushed.

"Hi." I said back. He kissed me slowly, letting the kiss last as long as possible.

"I loved it. You have to put it on a CD for me." He said as we pulled apart.

I smiled. "Caitlyn has it." He nodded as he stood up, with me still around him. He turned around and laid me on his bed, He moved his legs outside of mine and hovered over me. He kissed a trail down my neck to my collarbone and stopped.

"Relax." He whispered in my ear. I hadn't realized how tense I'd become. "We aren't there yet." He kissed behind my ear. "Besides." He held up his hand showing me his purity ring. "This does have some meaning to me." He laughed lightly before continuing his mission of kissing every inch of my exposed skin.

Caitlyn knocked on the door not too long after, reminding us that we had to get home.

So far, I was loving Christmas.


Review? Jason really wants you to... btw, Jason may be getting a love interest soon. I don't know yet.